The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus to which a toner container storing toner for supply and a toner container for storing collected waste toner can be attached.
A developing device is mounted in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Developer containing toner is stored inside the developing device. The developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrying member such as a photoconductor drum, by the toner contained in the developer. A toner image developed on the image carrying member is fixed to a print sheet by a fixing device. After the fixing, toner that was not fixed to the print sheet by the fixing device may remain on the image carrying member. With regard to this problem, there is known a waste toner collecting device for removing the toner remaining on the image carrying member and collecting the toner as waste toner.
The waste toner collecting device of this type includes a waste toner container for storing removed waste toner. Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that can use, as a waste toner container, a toner supply container that had been used to supply toner to the developing device and had become empty.
Meanwhile, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when an empty toner supply container is used as a waste toner container, it is necessary to reserve the empty container. Since the empty container is a used toner suppy container, toner is adhered to a toner supply port or the like. As a result, to prevent floating toner and smear of toner while an empty container is reserved, the empty container needs to be sealed in a bag or the like. This is troublesome to the user. In addition, when removing the empty container from the bag or the like, toner may be scattered to smear the surrounding. A user who dislikes such a smear prefers the use of a dedicated waste toner container provided to collect the waste toner, rather than an empty container of a toner supply container.